The End
by emmadactryl
Summary: CHALLENGE FIC FROM ELLEDREAMER : What happens when one of Alpha Force is killed? Chapter six- the last chapter- is up.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! I should probably be working on A Haunting Truth but have had a bit of writer's block and decided that working on this challenge may get me back into the swing of things. Not sure about the length but a new chapter could be up in a few days or so. This chapter is more of a "set the scene and make readers frustrated" one. It's rather short but the next one should be longer.**

Li stared at a tuft of green grass half a metre in front of her. There was a lump in her throat that would not go away, no matter how hard or how many times she swallowed. Tears that had flowed down her cheeks just half an hour ago had dried on her face, leaving her skin tight and sticky. Li sniffed and leant forwards so her head rested in her hands. Was it just last week when... What had gone so wrong?

* * *

Paulo, usually the most laid back and happy-go-lucky member of Alpha Force, couldn't have felt worse. Not only had one of his best friends just died, but he'd been up half the night with Li, comforting and consoling her. It had been five days since the awful tragedy that had cost a member of Alpha Force their life and most of the tears had been shed. At the thought of the funeral they would have to attend in the morning, however, Li had broken down, sobbing uncontrollably.

Now, Paulo glanced sideways at the pretty Anglo-Chinese girl and saw her head drop into her hands. He put his arm around her shoulders and she sat up.

'Oh, God,' she groaned, before leaning heavily against him. 'Why did this have to happen?'

Paulo squeezed her shoulder and bit his lip, unsure how to respond.

* * *

Amber hadn't felt so awful since her parent's funeral. In a way, this was worse.

On her right, Li was leaning against Paulo, her eyes closed and face pale. Amber wrung her hands and stared straight ahead of her; the service was due to start in a matter of minutes and already the seats were filling up. Amber had volunteered to speak on behalf of her friends and she was now regretting it. There was no way she was going to be able to stand up there and talk without bursting into tears. Amber gulped and wiped her eyes before looking straight ahead, a stubborn look on her face.

* * *

Hex, seated on Amber's left, couldn't help groaning as he saw a small group of people making their way slowly across the grass.

Alex's family.

Amber heard him and looked around in surprise, her expression turning to shock.

'They're coming over here,' she whispered in Hex's ear. Hex nodded and squeezed her hand.

Alex's dad stopped in front of them, while his wife and two daughters carried on walking. Grief and shock had made him look ten years older; dark rings edged his eyes and he looked tired, like he hadn't slept properly for quite a few nights. Not surprising after what had happened to his son.

'I'm glad you all came.' His voice was soft and sad. He stared at Amber and Hex, as though begging them to tell him this was all a horrible nightmare, that Alex would come walking up to them at any moment. Amber wished with all her heart that she could do exactly that, but it was hopeless. Alex wasn't coming back.

'If you ever want to talk...' Amber trailed off as the SAS officer smiled gently.

'Thanks. I- we appreciate it.' With tears in his eyes, he turned around and walked over to his family.

Amber swallowed hard and looked at Hex. 'I wish we could tell him.'

'We can't. Alex-' his voice faltered for a moment- 'Alex wouldn't have wanted us to blow our cover.'

Amber nodded reluctantly, knowing what he meant. It was so hard, though. It might have made it easier for the Craig's if they had known that Alex had died doing what he loved; helping people. She slumped in her seat, closed her eyes and sighed, remembering Alpha Force's last mission...

**Next chapter should be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Change of plan. There will be another two chapters after this one; the next one will be more on their mission and the last one will be back to the funeral. I think...**

Amber smiled at the girl in front of her. She wouldn't have been more than six or seven years old, yet her face had a serious, anxious expression. 'Here you go, sweetie,' Amber said, placing a small bundle of books and pens in her arms. Although she didn't understand English, the little girl smiled and clutched the books protectively.

As she wandered off, eyes shining with excitement, Amber smiled again. Alpha Force were together again for the holidays, in a small village in southern Africa helping one of the aid agencies. A small school had been built and books, pens, other resources and a teacher had finally arrived, allowing the school to open for the first time. After Alpha Force had travelled to India two years before, their name had been put on a list for helping with future aid work. Two other jobs had come up but one had been in term time and the second had been offered when Alpha Force were in Belize, training. Now they were available and had been in the village for the past week, helping put the finishing touches to the school and getting to know the villagers.

A shrill whistle made Amber's head whip around. Li was standing about fifty metres away, outside the building they were staying in. She saw Amber and gestured to her to come. Amber nodded and apologised to Karen and Greg, two other aid workers helping dispense the school supplies, before jogging across to Li.

Li's face was unreadable as she and Amber walked inside the little house. As her eyes adjusted from the brilliant sunlight outside, to the slightly gloomier indoors, Amber noticed her three other friends, and the final members of Alpha Force, huddled in the corner, peering at a palmtop screen. Hex, his green eyes narrowed, raised his head as he heard the two girls' footsteps.

'Check it out,' he said, motioning to a spot beside him.

Amber plonked down next to him but Li remained standing. 'Is it some nerdish thing I'll find extremely boring?'

Hex gave her a withering look. 'It's a possible mission for us.' He turned the palmtop away from Amber as she tried to see what was on the screen.

'Hey...' she whined.

'No, no, no.' Hex shook his head, his face poker straight. 'I don't want to bore you.'

'Let her see,' Alex sighed, knowing that if he didn't intervene they would be here for the rest of the afternoon, listening to Amber and Hex annoy each other. Sometimes it was hard to remember that they were the closest of friends.

'Do I have too?' Hex was still shielding the palmtop with his body.

'Yes.' Paulo's face peered out from behind Alex. 'Show her.'

'Fine.' Hex reluctantly moved the palmtop to where everyone could see. 'Shall I read aloud?'

'Knock yourself out,' Amber said.

'Okey dokey. First of all, it's from your uncle, Amber.' Hex scrolled down the page a bit. 'He hopes we're all having a great time, helping everyone, staying out of trouble, etc... Um... Here we go! "I know you are all helping out with the aid program, but since you're in the area I thought you might like to have a look at something. There's a little village about 100 kilometres away from you that has recently had a very high amount of miscarriages, unexplained deaths, children born with both physical and mental disabilities and sickness. Sounds a bit similar to the situation in Alaska that you guys resolved. You don't have to look into it but if you feel like it you can. Hex; email me if you guys need anything for this mission or otherwise."' Hex looked up from the screen and glanced at his friends' faces. 'Well? Are we going to "look into it"?'

'I'm in,' Alex said.

Paulo nodded. 'Me too.'

'Yep,' Li and Amber piped up.

Hex sighed and opened up a blank email page, reading to type his reply to John Middleton. 'We can't just kick back, can we?'

* * *

The village was even smaller and more neglected than the one they had left. A mangy group of chickens pecked in vain at the baked earth while a brown goat blinked suspiciously at them. Alpha Force had hitched a ride out with Harry, an aid worker who was also a doctor. Harry had also heard about the mysterious deaths and illnesses that had began to plague the village and he had travelled out there to see what he could do. In just a few days, ten more aid workers and two more doctors would be joining him to try and put an end to it.

Alpha Force jumped from the 4x4 as soon as it pulled up. Harry stuck his head out the window and called, 'See you this evening' before driving up the dirt track to the far end of the village.

Li looked at her friends and tilted her head. 'Any one got a plan?' she demanded.

'Hex?' Amber turned her head and peered at Hex. 'Plan?'

Hex, who had been staring blankly at the chickens, snapped his head back and blinked at Amber. 'Huh?'

'What do we do now?' Amber tapped her foot and raised her eyebrows.

'Um...' Hex scratched his head. 'I spose we could go and ask around, see if any of the villagers has an idea what might have caused this.'

'Good plan,' Alex said. He tugged at Li's arm. 'Come on. We'll go talk to the people over there. You guys can scout around and find others.' Alex and Li walked off, leaving Paulo, Hex and Amber to search the other side of the village.

'You heard the boss,' Amber said with mock seriousness. 'Onwards!'

* * *

An hour and a half later, Alpha Force were sitting underneath a sprawling acacia tree, glad of its plentiful shade. Hex had his palmtop open and had been staring at it for the past five minutes, clicking every now and then.

With an impatient sigh, Li stood up. 'Come on, Hex. What have you found?' Without raising his head, Hex held up one finger before turning his attention back to the little computer.

'This is torture,' Amber groaned. 'Tell us!'

'Wait.' Hex frowned and clicked a few more times. 'Patience is a virtue.'

'I don't give a crap!' Amber scowled. She stalked over to Hex and pulled the palmtop from his grasp.

'Hey!' Hex glared at her, but his face broke into a grin as Amber stared at the screen in confusion.

'What the heck?' she mumbled, before passing the palmtop back to Hex.

'Shall I explain?' Hex continued without waiting for an answer. 'From what we found out from the villagers and some interesting test results by a few agencies- don't ask how I got the results- I'd say that our problem lies with the water.'

'Just like in Alaska,' Alex said.

Amber shuddered at the memory of Daniel Usher before blocking it from her mind. The only problem with a job like this, apart from the life-threatening danger, was the flashbacks. 'Do we know why the water had suddenly become toxic?'

Hex shrugged. 'There's a huge lake about 15, 20 kilometres from here. It spills out into little rivers and creeks, some of which flow down here. The village gets all of its water from these creeks. That's the only thing which could be affected from an outside source.' He paused and brought up a page on his palmtop. 'We need to go have a look at the lake.'

'Why would the lake suddenly become toxic?' Paulo asked.

'Sabotage? Someone doesn't want the village here?' Hex was only half concentrating as he clicked through various web pages. 'I'll see what I can find.'

Amber pulled out her mobile. 'While you do that, I'll call Harry. Can you drive us there, Paulo?'


	3. Chapter 3

The lake stretched out before them, a blue smear in an otherwise green and brown landscape. Paulo pulled the car up and stared at the water.

'This is the place, right?' he asked without turning around.

'Yep.' Hex packed his palmtop away into its protective case before opening his door and climbing out. Amber followed him, eyes squinting against the glare.

'Where are all the animals?' Li wondered aloud as she joined her two friends.

'Um...' Amber scanned the lake and frowned. 'I don't see any.'

'That's really odd,' Li said as she walked towards the lake. Her four friends followed close behind.

'What do you mean?' Alex couldn't help picking up a few flat stones and skimming them across the lake.

'Look at this place!' Li exclaimed spreading her arms wide and turning to her left and right. 'It's got a huge water supply, trees for shelter and browsing, grass for grazing... It should be overflowing with animals! And yet there's nothing here.' She shook her head. 'No zebras, no gazelles, no wildebeest, no lions, no cheetahs... It's not right.'

There was silence for a few moments, broken only by the gentle plops as Alex continued to skim stones on the lake.

'So you think it's the water then?' Hex said eventually.

Li nodded. 'It's gotta be. The only possible link between the sudden sicknesses in the village and the nonexistent animals here is the water.'

'Ok.' Hex pulled his palmtop out of his case and sat down by the lake edge. 'So is it deliberate or not? Natural or caused by humans?' His fingers flew across the keyboard, accessing a host of websites not meant to be available to the general public.

'I don't think it's natural,' Li mused, a slight frown on her face. 'Why would it be?'

'So humans are causing it,' Amber put in. 'The question now is, is it intentional?'

'Let's suppose it is,' Paulo said. 'Who would benefit from having an entire village struck down by sickness?'

'Doctors?' Li said. 'Drug companies?'

'The villagers are too poor to afford medical care. They wouldn't benefit.' Alex flicked another rock into the lake. It skipped six times before sinking with a gentle _plop_.

'Maybe whoever did this didn't want the villagers sick,' Hex said.

Amber scoffed. 'Yeah right! What other reason would they have?'

Hex raised his eyes from the computer screen. 'They didn't want the villagers to just get sick. They wanted them to all die or move away.'

'What?' Amber raised her eyebrows. 'Why would someone want to have that happen?'

'I think I found a candidate. Dominic Chance.'

'Never heard of him,' Alex said, dropping the rest of his stones into the lake before sitting down next to Hex.

'He was a British inventor who failed miserably at inventing anything. On the verge of a mental breakdown, he packed it in and moved here five years ago in the hope of starting fresh.'

'What's that got to do with the lake?' Paulo asked.

'Hang on. I'm getting to it. A few months ago he decided that he wanted to build a sort of resort. People would pay money to stay in five star accommodation with breathtaking views of African landscape and animals at your very fingertips. Not only did he want to run a resort, Mr Chance loved the idea of safari tours, getting up close and personal with various African animals. He applied for all the licences, drew up plans and set about finding the perfect piece of land.' Hex looked at his friends, one eyebrow raised.

'Let me guess,' Amber sighed. 'It was either right on top of or very close to the village.'

'Got it in one. The resort would press on the village boundaries. The villagers didn't like the idea of having some of their grazing land taken off them and Dominic Chance didn't like the idea of having a poverty stricken village right beside his luxury resort. The villagers refused to simply pack up and move on; Chance couldn't force them...'

'So he puts a toxic yet undetectable substance in their only source of water, the lake, in order to force them to leave,' Li finished. 'I don't believe it.'

'The last bit is purely hypothetical,' Hex added,' but it seems like it could be true.'

'What are we going to do?' Alex studied the red dirt he was sitting on. Tiny insects scuttled across the soil; by poisoning the lake, not only the villagers would be affected, but every other living thing that depended on the lake and its tributaries.

'We're going to stop him. Before it's too late.'

* * *

Alpha Force were crouched in a clump of dense scrub. They were dressed in black, with camouflage cream smeared on any exposed flesh. Even without the cream, Amber was almost invisible, her dark skin blending perfectly with the night.

'Go through it one more time,' Amber said.

'Ok.' Hex called up a map on his palmtop and displayed the screen to his friends. 'This is the lake and this is the village,' he explained pointing to each part of the map. 'The line here is a fairly wide river running into the lake from a spot near Dominic Chance's house. We have to find the house, gain access, find any documents that would incriminate him. Even better would be actual footage of him dumping stuff in the river. Alex, Paulo and Amber,' Hex continued pointing at each of his friends,' you will go inside the house and look for any documents while Li comes with me to try and catch anything on film. Clear?' Four heads nodded solemnly back at him. 'Let's do it.'

* * *

'Li.' Hex sounded exasperated. 'Can you sit still?'

'Sorry,' Li sighed. 'But nothing's happening.' She sighed again before flopping on the grass next to Hex.

'Chill.' Hex turned his attention back to the river, scanning the surface for any sign of life. Half an hour and still nothing. Li was still twitching beside him. He sighed, wishing that she had gone with the others. Physically restraining himself from throttling her, Hex fiddled with the camcorder, deliberately blocking her out.

Li looked sideways at Hex, frowning. Suddenly her Anglo-Chinese features lit up, her face splitting into a wide grin.

'Hey, Hex.' Her grin got wider as he spun around, suspicion all over his face.

'What?'

'Remember back when we were in India?' Li continued without waiting for an answer. 'I asked you a question that you never actually answered.'

'Don't know what you're talking about,' Hex said evenly, his face expressionless, his voice betraying no emotions.

'We were waiting while Amber and Paulo went after Alex.' She studied his face. 'Remember?'

Hex shrugged, seeing no way out. 'I guess so. But you didn't stay up long enough, so I didn't have to answer.'

'If you don't like Amber then why are you so concerned about answering the question?' Li mentally rubbed her hands and cackled. _Let's see how he reacts to that one._

'I never said I didn't like Amber, but,' he continued as Li's face looked triumphant,' I never said I did like her either. What's it to you anyway?'

Li shrugged. 'You're my friend and as a friend it is my duty to annoy you over the person you fancy.'

'Well, Li, I'm sorry to say but you're out of a job. I don't fancy anyone.' He picked up the camcorder and busied himself adjusting the focus and lighting settings. Li regarded him with annoyance. _Why can't he just answer me? It's not like it isn't obvious._ She was about to push the issue further when Hex grabbed her arm.

'Be... very... quiet,' he murmured slowly. Li nodded and sank further down onto the ground.

'Got someone?' she whispered back. Hex nodded instead of answering, all his attention focused on the five people by the river's edge, about 20 metres upstream.

Zooming in as much as the camera would allow, Hex could clearly make out the drums of poison being emptied into the waterway. He shifted the camera so it focused on the writing on one of the drums, before filming each of the five men's' faces.

'Got 'em,' he said quietly. Li squeezed his arm as the men finished their job and disappeared in the direction of the house. Hex turned the camera off and looked at Li.

'Let's get going. The others will be finished soon.' He stood up slowly and led the way back to their rendezvous point, a large acacia, set back from the house and surrounded by dense scrub.

'Now we wait,' Li said.

Hex nodded. 'We wait.'

* * *

Amber crept as close as she could to the house. She heard Paulo come up beside her and felt Alex brush against her on her other side.

'We breaking in or waltzing up?'

'Breaking in, though hopefully not too conspicuously,' Alex answered.

'Let's go. It looks deserted.' Paulo led the way carefully towards the house, using the bush and the lie of the land as much as he could.

'Ok,' Amber murmured. 'Ready?' Alex and Paulo nodded. 'Off we go then.'

Thanks to Hex, they had managed to obtain floor plans of the house. Amber deliberately chose a window that opened into a store room. Paulo pulled a few tools out of his belt pouch and set to work, getting the window open quickly. He sat on the edge of the window before swinging his legs around and jumping down to the other side. Amber went next, followed closely by Alex.

'Right.' Amber consulted the map. 'We need to find an office or somewhere similar where he could keep important documents and stuff.'

'"Important documents and stuff"?' Alex echoed, grinning. 'Could you choose worse words next time?' Amber rolled her eyes and cautiously edged towards the door.

'We need to get out of here and go up to the next floor.' Nervous as hell, Amber tried to keep her breathing steady. Why was she so nervous? This certainly wasn't the first time she had been in a potentially dangerous, not to mention illegal, situation. Her instincts screamed at her to go back but Amber ignored them, pushing down the queasy feeling in her gut.

Ten minutes later the three of them were in Chance's office, sorting through wads of paper. Amber still felt uneasy and she kept shooting nervous glances around the room. Alex noticed and put his hand on her arm. Amber jumped a foot in the air, before realising it was just Alex.

'Are you ok?' Alex asked. He looked anxiously at Amber, noticing her rapid breathing and darting eyes.

'What? Me? Ah, yeah. Right as rain.' Amber chewed her lip. 'I just feel really...funny. Like something bad is going to happen.'

'Don't worry about it. We've got one more cabinet to look in, then we're going.' He gave Amber's arm a squeeze before turning back to Paulo. 'Have you found anything?'

'Possibly.' Paulo held up a fat manila folder, inconspicuously stamped with huge red lettering spelling out "TOP SCERET". 'What do you think?'

'Looks good.' Alex glanced at his watch and his eyes widened. 'We don't have time to look at it now,' he said, stuffing files back in the cabinet. 'We better get going.'

Amber was more than happy to oblige. She handed Paulo her backpack before leading the way down the corridor. Alex followed her with Paulo bringing up the rear, zipping the film safely in the bag.

'Feel better now?' Alex asked softly.

'Not really,' Amber admitted. 'I still feel like someone's going-' Amber cut off abruptly as a man appeared in front of them. He stared at Alex and Amber in shock before drawing his gun.

'Go!' Amber screamed. She ducked and sprinted away. Catching glimpse of Paulo pressed into a corner, gripping the bag, she changed direction, deliberately leading the man away from her friend. 'Run!' The man wouldn't know that she was yelling it purely for Paulo's benefit. He looked torn, but scuttled away, knowing he had to get the evidence out.

Once Paulo started to move, Amber turned all her attention to escaping. She'd lost sight of Alex and hoped he was ok. The man was still running after her, gun clutched in one hand. Several times he could have easily shot her, but he hadn't. _He must want me alive then_, Amber thought. She wasn't sure if this was good or bad.

**I tend to do this a lot and I guess it must be pretty annoying. The next chapter will either be all flashback to their last mission or three quarters flash back, one quarter funeral. If it's all flashback, the chapter after that will be fairly short and just back at the funeral. Sorry if that's confusing so I'll just say that there will either be one or two more chapters after this one. Hopefully updating soon.**


	4. Chapter 4

Amber sprinted down the hall, not knowing where she was going, only wanting to get away. She was fit and young but the man was gaining on her. Panic gripped her chest and Amber tried to push down the overwhelming urge to start bawling. The night threw shadows up, making her disorientated and confused.

Too late she saw the corner. Trying to turn at the last second made her feet shoot out from beneath her. Amber hit the floor, gasping as the breath was knocked out of her. The man slowed as he approached her, gun drawn and aimed straight at her head.

'Don't move.' The man's voice sounded frightfully loud. Amber tilted her head slightly and couldn't help recoiling in shock. His head was bent down, just inches from her own. 'You're a girl!' A sounded surprised.

'Duh,' Amber couldn't help muttering.

The man's expression turned hard. 'What?' Amber didn't answer and he kicked her shoulder, making her wince. 'What did you say?' Another kick, bringing tears to Amber's eyes.

'Nothing,' she mumbled.

'Good.' He stood up, pulling Amber roughly to her feet. 'You are in serious trouble little girl.'

Amber scowled at him, her eyes like daggers. 'What sort of trouble?'

The man kicked her in the ankle and shoved the gun in her side. 'Shut up or I'll shoot you. It doesn't matter to me whether you live or die.' He pressed the gun against her side harder. Amber chewed on the inside of her mouth, determined to show no pain. He grinned at her before taking hold of her wrist and pulling her down the hall, towards a flight of stairs hidden by darkness.

Amber casually stuck her hand up to her neck, feeling for the chain and tracer that she had put on just two hours ago. Her breath froze in her chest; it wasn't there.

* * *

Alex had run the opposite way to Amber, but he hadn't escaped. Just as he thought he might have a chance, he turned a corner and ran straight into a security guard. Within minutes he was being manhandled down a flight of stairs and chucked into a concrete cell. _Ok. How do I get out of this one?_ He was contemplating the possibility of an escape when a scuffling made him look up. The entire front of the cell was covered in thick, metal bars, spaced about two inches apart, and he could see Amber get pulled along the corridor towards him. The door was opened and she was shoved inside.

'Hi, Amber. Nice of you to pop in.' Alex smiled but it was forced. Amber didn't even respond; she was sitting in a corner, knees folded into her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs, head resting on her knees.

'Amber?' Alex sat down next to his friend and put a hand on her shoulder. 'You ok?'

'What do you think?' Amber snapped without raising her head. 'We're locked in a freaking dungeon, Alex.'

'Don't worry,' Alex said, feeling sounding more confident than he actually felt. 'Paulo got out. He'll get Li and Hex and they'll get help.'

Amber raised her head from her knees and gave Alex a withering look. 'How old do you think I am?'

'It won't do us much good if we panic or sit in a corner and give up.' He raised his eyebrows and stuck his hand out to Amber. 'Come on. We can look for a way out.'

After staring at Alex's hand for a few moments, Amber reluctantly took it and allowed Alex to pull her to her feet. 'You know, Alex, it's sometimes a good thing to be pessimistic.' He grinned at her before crossing the rather spacious cell and bending down in the corner of the room.

'Look for any cracks or loose bricks.' Alex ran his hand along the edge of the wall and floor, brow creased in concentration.

'Right,' Amber answered slowly. She knew just as well as Alex did that the chances of finding a loose brick was almost nil and the chance that a loose brick would lead them to outside was even slimmer, but at least it gave them something to do. Sighing, Amber got down on her hands and knees and started looking for loose bricks.

* * *

Paulo eventually found his way back to the storeroom window, although he knew that he had lost precious minutes. He leapt out of the window and hit the ground running, heading as fats as possible towards the rendezvous point.

'What do you mean the tracers aren't working?' Paulo could hear Li's voice, sounding annoyed and slightly worried through the thick scrub as he approached.

'I don't know why, Li.' Hex sounded just as ticked off. 'Even ours aren't working and we're standing right here.'

'Hi.' Paulo emerged from the scrub, leaves and twigs sticking into his curly hair. Li gave a squeak and hugged him.

'What took you so long? We were getting-' Suddenly noticing the lack of people, Li squinted past Paulo. 'Where are Amber and Alex?' Hex's head shot up, eyes worried.

'They were caught. We found a file but they were caught on the way out.' He pulled the file from Amber's backpack and dropped it by Hex. The Londoner didn't even glance at it.

'How long ago?' He was trying to keep the emotion out his voice and was only just succeeding.

'Half an hour?' Paulo looked guilty. 'I came back as soon as I could.'

'Never mind.' Hex stuffed the file into his backpack and packed his palmtop away. 'We have to get them out.'

Paulo shook his head. 'There's no way in. The guards are on high alert; I only just made it out.

'We have to get them out,' Hex repeated.

'There is no way, _amigo_.' Paulo grabbed Hex's arms and forced him to stop moving. 'Calm down. We'll get them out, but we can't just go rushing in there. We need to get closer and watch the house, see what's happening. Once we find a way in, we'll get them out.' Hex's shoulders slumped and he nodded meekly.

'Ok.'

* * *

Li wriggled forward as much as she dared. They were only 20 metres from the house, on the far side of a slight hill.

'You're right, Paulo. The place is crawling with guards.' She squinted and gulped. 'Make that _armed_ guards.'

'What do we do?' Hex looked at Paulo, his green eyes worried.

Biting his lip, Paulo shrugged his shoulders. 'I don't know. I don't know.'


	5. Chapter 5

'This is stupid!' Amber growled. 'We're not going to find anything.' She rounded on Alex, still patiently feeling along the wall. 'Alex? Are you listening?'

'Huh?' Alex blinked and turned around to face his friend. 'What did you say?'

Amber sighed and flopped down on the concrete floor. 'Doesn't matter.' She watched Alex continue to look for loose bricks for a few more minutes before getting up and walking over to him.

'What?' Alex spoke without looking at Amber.

'Stop. There's no point.' Amber gently took hold of Alex's arm and pulled him back from the wall. 'Conserve your energy in case we get an opportunity to break free.'

For a moment Alex looked as though he was going to protest, but he say the truth of Amber's words and stopped looking for a way out. 'You're right.'

The two of them sat in the back corner of the cell in silence, both lost in their thoughts.

'What are they going to do with us?' Alex asked, his voice sounding loud after the long silence.

'I don't know.' Amber shrugged, her voice quavering slightly. 'I guess-' She fell quiet abruptly as five people entered the room. Four looked like body guards, Kevlar enforced jackets making their walk appear a bit stiff. They all seemed identical until you looked again, then you noticed one had a slight scar on his cheek, another had a squinted eye, the third had oriental features and the last man's nose had been broken and healed incorrectly. The fifth man, although he walked calmly enough and had a smirk on his face, looked nervous. His emerald green eyes flickered from side to side and he chewed his bottom lip every now and then. He was tall and skinny, with dark curly hair. Dressed in a tailored suit and loafers, he looked rich and businesslike. Alex looked sideways at Amber. Could this be Dominic Chance, the man that Hex had told them about?

'Ah... Hello.' The man stopped a metre from their cell, flanked by his guards. He had a clipped British accent that sounded out of place in the dungeons. 'I'm Dominic Chance.' He frowned as though wondering whether telling them his name was such a good idea, but a moment later the slightly self-conscious smile returned. 'Who are you?'

Amber and Alex remained silent.

'Alright then. You may remain anonymous, however I do need to ask you a few questions.' Chance was definitely a business man, remaining diplomatic even when his prisoners were being uncooperative. 'What brings you to my humble abode?'

Amber and Alex had decided just after they were captured that remaining silent would most likely get them into even more trouble. They'd agreed on a cover story and Amber put it into use.

'We were driving around, seeing the sites and our car broke down. Smoke pouring out of the bonnet... Freaked us out. We ain't that handy with an engine so decided to phone for help but whadda you know. No reception. When we saw the house it was an utter relief, but there didn't appear to be anyone here so we let ourselves in and went looking. Your goons started chasing us and of course we ran; wouldn't you if some giant is coming after you with a blinking gun?' She blinked at Chance. 'And here we all are.'

Chance smiled and shook his head. 'Nice try, sweetie, but you don't fool me. Who sent you and why?'

Still deciding to play innocent, Amber widened her eyes and looked hurt. 'What makes you think that?'

'You two don't look much older than 16. I doubt that you would be able to drive properly and even if you could, a tour group or resort isn't going to let you go out for a jaunt around the bush, unguided.' Chance raised his eyebrows and crossed his arms. 'So are you going to start telling me the truth or what?'

Amber and Alex remained silent, staring impassively at Chance and his thugs.

Chance shook his head and started to walk off, calling over his shoulder as he did, 'Rot in here then. See if I care.'

* * *

'Window's over there, about 10 metres on your left.' Paulo ducked his head back down and looked at Li and Hex. 'We're going in now?' 

'Yep,' Hex replied firmly before leaving their relatively sheltered vantage point and hurrying to the side of the manor.

'What's on the other side?' Li asked, her voice barely a whisper.

'Storeroom,' Paulo breathed. 'Careful.' He helped Li through before joining her and Hex in the manor.

'Where would they be?' Hex wondered aloud.

'Some place out of the way.' Walking cautiously to the door, Li frowned and paused midstep. 'Someone's coming,' she hissed urgently.

It was too late to try and find a hiding spot. The door was flung open and two figures stumbled into the storeroom.

'Now!' Li launched herself at one of the people while Hex tackled the second.

'Li! Get off me. We have to go now!' Amber's voice squeaked out from under Li.

'Amber?' She rolled off her friend and hauled her to her feet. 'We were coming in to rescue you guys.'

'Well there's no need now. You won't believe it but some utter _twit_ didn't even lock our cell door. I mean _come on_. If you're going to hold some one captive, at leats do it right!'

'You ok, Alex?' Hex asked with concern. He had helped his friend to his feet but the Northumbrian boy seemed unsteady. His face was pale and he was breathing funny.

'Huh? Yeah, I'm fine.' Alex walked to the window, feeling anything but fine. He had no idea why he felt so light headed; his side hurt dreadfully as well, but he put that down to his collision with a guard when he and Amber had escaped from the cell. Surely that wouldn't make his side hurt this much, though?

'We better move it,' Paulo said, already half out of the window. 'They sound mad.' Crashes echoed along the corridor, matched in volume by loud curses.

'Right behind you,' Amber replied, standing back to wait for Li to jump through. Alex went to pull himself up onto the ledge and almost ended up on the floor. He gasped and staggered.

'Alex!' Hex gasped, darting forward to grab his friend. 'What's wrong, mate?'

'Nothing. Really, I'm ok. Just a twinge, that's all.' Alex gritted his teeth and pulled himself through the window.

'You go next, Amber.' He waited for the American girl to hop out the window before following, casting one last look back into the storeroom. He couldn't believe that had been so easy. _Too easy,_ his mind screamed. _Something has to go wrong._ Hex pushed the little voice to the back of his mind and darted after his friends, back into the safety of the bush.

'Everyone's ok?' Li asked, concern etched into her Anglo-Chinese features.

'Yep.' Paulo and Hex nodded.

'Okey dokey,' Amber added.

Alex didn't answer. He had sat down about eight metres from his friends, head in his hands.

'Alex? What's wrong?' Amber stood up and walked across to Alex.

'I- I don't know.' Alex's face was confused, his voice uncertain. 'My side really hurts, but I don't know why.' Amber looked down at Alex's right side and saw his hand clamped to his t-shirt.

'Let me look.' She turned her head slightly and called over her shoulder, 'Hex? Can you bring a torch over?'

'Sure.' Hex got up and hunted around him for a torch. 'Um...'

'Here.' Li's hand hit the torch and she tossed it to Hex.

'Thanks,' answered Hex as he made his way across to Amber and Alex.

'Shine it here.' As the beam of light lit up Alex's side, Amber pulled her friend's hand away. She studied the t-shirt. 'I don't think I can-'

'Crap!' Hex's gasp made Amber swivel her head.

'What- Oh my God!' Amber stared in horror at Alex's hand; it was covered in red.

'What's happened?' Li and Paulo cried as they scurried across to their three friends.

'Alex? What happened?' Amber had pulled a bandage out of the first aid kit and was trying to stem the blood flow seeping out of Alex's side.

Alex shook his head and sagged. 'I don't know,' he said slowly. 'Maybe it was when I ran into the guard.'

Paulo had taken over form Amber, but the makeshift pad was already soaked with Alex's blood. Alex gasped and closed his eyes, face taunt and pale.

'Don't,' he croaked.

'Alex, I'm sorry but I have to do this.' Paulo pressed harder, making Alex cry out. The blood just wouldn't stop. Li sat next to Alex and helped him lie down with his head on her lap.

'You'll be fine,' Li soothed, squeezing his hand.

Alex gave a humourless laugh. 'Sure thing. Whatever you say.' His breath rasped in his throat and he groaned. 'Thanks for everything guys. You don't know-' Li stopped Alex's words by clamping a hand over his mouth.

'Don't,' she hissed. 'Don't you even dare.'

Alex weakly pulled Li's hand away and shook his head. 'Please, Li. I need to say something.' He took a wheezing breath before continuing. 'You guys are the best friends I've ever had. Thanks so much for everything. I know we've been in some rough situations but we worked together and got out of them.' Alex coughed and Li's eyes widened as she caught sight of flecks of blood on Alex's lips. 'I love you guys so much.' His voice was barely a whisper. Alex smiled, took a shuddering breath and lay still.

Li sat in a stunned silence, her hand resting on Alex's blonde head. She barely noticed the tears start rolling down her cheeks. She felt Paulo take hold of her hand, but it barely registered. Suddenly she gave sob as the full situation hit her. Alex was dead. She folded forwards, cradling Alex's head and cried for the friend she had lost. Paulo put his arms around her, his tears making her back damp.

As Alex had taken his last breath, Amber had collapsed in a flood of tears. She sat, hunched over, until strong arms lifted her slightly. Hex pulled her towards him and she huddled close to him, gripping his t-shirt tightly, burying her head in his shoulder. Hex rested his head on Amber's, his eyes betraying all the horror and sadness he was feeling. Tears started to fall from his eyes, dripping soundlessly onto Amber's brown hair. He hugged her tighter, wondering if anything was going to be the same again.

**I felt so awful writing this. I was nearly in tears; I have a very vivid imagination and could see the whole seen in front of me as I typed it. One more chappie after this, fairly short I think and we'll be back at the funeral. To add a wee bit of happiness to this otherwise sad fic, there will be a nice little moment to look forward to at the end of the next chapter. **


	6. Chapter 6

**This is the last chapter of this fic. :( I've really enjoyed writing it and I know how morbid and horrible that makes me seems but it's true. Thanks to Elledreamer for this challenge; through writing this fic I have had a whole lot more ideas sprout up for A Haunting truth. Speaking of which, I shall be concentrating on A Haunting Truth after this fic and then shudders I will attempt to finish the Dear Diary chapter I am working on, but I can't promise anything. **

Amber stared at the ground, tears welling up in her eyes as she thought of Alex's last moments. She still couldn't believe that he wasn't with them any more. For the first part of the service, Amber sat still, listening but not taking anything in. When it was her time to stand up and speak, she felt bile rise in her throat. Hex smiled at her reassuringly.

'You sure you still want to do this?' he whispered. Amber didn't answer; she stood up and walked up to the front of the rows of chairs. For a couple of moments, Amber looked at the piece of paper in her hands. The words had taken the majority of the past week to put together and now they seemed stupid. A lump in her throat, Amber looked at the crowd, about to apologise and say that she couldn't speak, but she caught sight of her four friends and swallowed hard. The paper crumpled in her hand, Amber started to speak.

'What can I say about Alex? To people who didn't know him, he just a quiet kid from Northumberland, but to every one here today, he obviously meant so much more. I've lost count of the times he's helped me or just been there for me, and I know my friends feel the same way. He was a true leader, the person that we would always turn to when we weren't sure which way to go.' Amber paused for a moment, looking at the crowd, before continuing. 'Alex helped teach me some important lessons; how not to be selfish, how to go with the flow, how to care for others. I'll never forget the lessons he helped me learn, or the look on his face whenever he was battling it out in some harsh environment. Alex wouldn't whinge or complain, he'd just get on with it. At times it seemed that he was enjoying himself too much and he should have been crying on the floor. But that never happened. I feel really privileged to have known Alex. He was one of my best friends and I'll never forget him. Alex's passing has taught me something else though; something of equal importance. Life is precious. Don't waste time on the little things and don't put something off because you're scared of the outcome. Go for it and deal with what comes out of it.' Amber walked back to her seat, tears welling up in her eyes.

The rest of the service past in a blur and soon it was time for everyone to go home. The Craigs left in a hurry, faces wet with tears. Li watched them go, her heart aching.

'What can you say?' she murmured.

'Huh?' Paulo asked.

'What can you say to them? We can't even tell them the real reason their son died.' Li felt angry. 'They have a right to know.'

'Alex didn't want us to tell them,' Amber said softly. 'This isn't the end of Alpha Force. We need to keep going, keep helping people.' Li nodded sadly and Paulo put his arm around her shoulders.

'You alright, Hex?' Paulo asked suddenly. They had all been quiet, lost in their thoughts, staring out across the moors.

'Um, yeah. Just... Just thinking.' He had a strange look on his face.

'You sure?' Amber put in. He nodded then mumbled, 'Can I talk to you for a minute, Amber.'

'Ok,' Amber said slowly, following Hex away from Li and Paulo. When they were out of sight and earshot she raised an eyebrow and planted her hand son her hips. 'What's wrong?'

'Nothing. Um, I was just, you know, thinking about what you said before.' Amber looked at him blankly so he elaborated. 'When you said that life is precious and we shouldn't waste time avoiding things because we're scared of the outcome, it got me thinking.'

'Thinking?' Amber teased. 'You?'

Hex didn't return her smile. He looked really serious. 'Yeah.' He cleared his throat and looked at the ground. 'When we first met, I admit I hated you. You were stuck-up, spoilt, bitchy and impossible to get along with.'

'Gee. Thanks,' mumbled Amber, slightly hurt.

'But that's changed,' Hex continued as though he hadn't heard Amber. 'You've changed. I've changed. I've been meaning to tell you something for a while now, but I keep putting it off. What you said made sense, especially for us. We put ourselves in dangerous situations that we might not come out of and I want to make sure you know... how I feel about you.' The last bit came out in a rush. Hex bit his lip and looked at Amber properly. She was staring back at him, her face unreadable. _What the hell_, Hex thought suddenly. He leaned towards Amber and kissed her.

**Hope no one minded the little moment at the end there but the idea popped into my head and refused to go away. A Haunting Truth will be commanding my attention now and I will aim to get another chapter loaded by the end of the week, maybe sooner. **


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